Advertising is well known and many and varied forms are used to market products and services to target markets. One known form includes road signage such as signs mounted at the side of roads, dedicated billboards, walls of buildings, static and dynamic displays, truck mounted displays and the like.
The use of road signage, however, provides a conundrum. More particularly, the notion of advertising is to preferentially attract the viewer's attention—and in this case, the viewer's gaze—and to create an easily recollected image in the mind of the viewer. However, where that viewer is most likely to be in control of a motor vehicle, it is not conducive to safety for the viewer's attention to be other than predominantly centred upon the progress of the vehicle. It follows that the more effective the advertising is at achieving its end, the more likely it will contributes to distracting drivers from the key responsibility they have at the time. Additionally, the advertising itself can often obscure a driver's field of view, and/or create a collision hazard to a vehicle that inadvertently veers off the road.
A further disadvantage of existing advertisements is that the information is not accessible in a majority of conditions. While a portion of the viewers of an advertisement may have ample opportunity to locate and read roadside advertising in daylight hours in agreeable weather conditions, a large portion of the viewing population does not. Likewise, even if roadside advertising is noticed in darkness, it is difficult to discern the relevant information with a sufficient degree of accuracy.
In partial answer to these disadvantages it has been known to provide advertising that is illuminated by way of independent lighting, or which makes use of retro-reflective displays. However, this adds to the cost and complexity of the advertisement site. In the case of retro-reflective displays, this is also limited by the observation angle of the retro-reflective material used. This, in turn, limits such displays to locations where the light from the vehicles and the placement of the display are such that a useful result will be achieved.
Road signage can also be seen as aesthetically displeasing and obtrusive, particularly to those who live near such signage. This is particularly the case with large dedicated billboard, which generally require considerable support structures.
Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.